On the road the B3 feels monumentally quick, even down the shortest straights. And the auto gearbox works perfectly in conjunction with the engine, blipping downshifts smoothly and with just the right number of revs when you shift manually, and picking off gears with similar speed and dexterity on the way up.

If you want to go slowly in it, you can, and the engine and automatic gearbox combo works beautifully in laid-back mode. But the moment you want to summon end-of-the-universe acceleration, all you do is flatten the throttle and go, cheeks all-of-aflap like a proper time traveller.